WSR: Hartley dropped by Red Bull

Brendon Hartley has been dropped by the Red Bull Junior driver programme and is unlikely to complete the Formula Renault 3.5 Series season.

The 20-year-old New Zealander, who has driven with French squad Tech 1 Racing this year, currently lies sixth in the points standings, but has been removed from the programme after being out-performed by his rookie team-mate and fellow Red Bull-backed racer Daniel Ricciardo, so far this season.

Hartley rose to prominence by dominating the 2007 Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup before graduating to the British F3 International Series the following year. After finish third in that championship, behind Jaime Alguersuari and Oliver Turvey, he dovetailed campaigns in the F3 Euro Series and Formula Renault 3.5 Series last year, but was disappointed with 11th and 15th place overall finishes respectively.

Nevertheless, Hartley was named as a Red Bull Racing F1 reserve driver this year before the energy drinks company opted to withdraw its backing.

“This was my fifth season with Red Bull and I want to get across that they have given me a lot and I’m not bitter,” Hartley told Autosport.

“Although I could say there was bad luck this year at Spa, there were also races where the results should have been better. (But) I hadn’t given up on this year’s championship, so it’s disappointing.”

Hartley will now concentrate on assessing other career options and hasn’t ruled out progressing to F1 in the future without Red Bull’s support.

“The F1 dream is still there and I’m going to fight for it,” he said. “Perhaps this is a wake-up. The last year hasn’t gone well so a change in environment could be good for me.

“My priority is to get some seat time again, get out there and prove myself. I’ve got options already, but I’ve got to be sure they’re going to be the right options. To be honest, at the moment I don’t have a GP2 budget so I’m looking at everything.”

Tech 1 will replace Hartley with current British F3 points leader Jean-Eric Vergne. The Frenchman, also a Red Bull Junior, will complete the season with the team when the series resumes at Hockenheim in September.

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Andy Wilkinson

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